Any duathletes? (Read 507 times)

We have a trail duathlon in my town...I'd think about doing it someday, but the biking portion is also on trails--me no likey biking around trees...I just don't have the reflexes for it. But I have considered looking into doing road duathlons someday. I have a feeling I would do better at that sort of event, as my legs are really built more for cycling than running (quads, baby...my dad was a fencer in college and I'm built a lot like him). I wouldn't be looking into this any time soon, as I don't yet have a road bike, but someday would consider it. did is a road cyclist and it would be fun to do rides with him once DS is older and can ride with us.
What sorts of general things would a person need to do differently to train for a duathlon? Any general pointers? Is the transition from running only to a combo of running and cycling difficult, or does it come pretty naturally?
k

'16 Goals:

• Do some dus...and some CX...and some tandem gravel...and some podiums...

• PRs

• 130#s (or less)

• Stop letting my core go to hell

Jeffrey

posted: 4/24/2007 at 11:26 AM

I used to run biathlons (that's what we called them in the midwest, ca 1988) in my 20s. They were always fun and usually involved distances like 5k/30k or 5k/50k/5k - always on roads, not on trails.
The transition can be a point at which your muscles cramp or spasm; picture yourself coming in from a hard 5k run and then putting on bike cleats (you might have to walk a little in the cleats which always makes your leg muscles feel funny), straddling a bike and then spinning up to 20-23 mph.
If I were to train for an event like this I would slowly re-introduce the bike into my workouts. Runs were featured at the beginning of my biathlons so I favor a run-bike sequence. I would keep up my normal daily mileage (maybe reduce it by a mile or so at first) and hop on the bike for 20-30minutes to see what it feels like. I would gradually increase the time on the bike as I got more comfortable with the second layer of workouts. I would prepare for the event with the same intensity as I prepare for running only events. Know the course, determine the elevational changes you'll face on race-day, use a log, etc.
I think the combination of running+cycling is challenging, in a good way. Natural? - you have to be the judge on that.

What sorts of general things would a person need to do differently to train for a duathlon? Any general pointers? Is the transition from running only to a combo of running and cycling difficult, or does it come pretty naturally?
k

That's one of the things I have often wondered about those multi-sport events, like tris. How the competitors switch over from one activity to the next...I would think a lot of people lose or gain places during those transitions. We have a few triathlons in this area, but I'm not sure I could get into the swimming portion. I've never really done any swimming other than just playing at the beach. My upper body is definitely my smallest/weakest area.
k

'16 Goals:

• Do some dus...and some CX...and some tandem gravel...and some podiums...

Today was a "rest day" for me, but I did about 20 minutes of spinning, pretty hard at the end. Since I was outside, I immediately hopped off the bike and ran about a quarter mile for shits 'n giggles. Holy Wobbly Legs Batman!

On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

I hear that, Jeff! Eryn and I both had cases of jello legs after the last and worst hill on Sat's race! I'm sure it would have been worse if we hadn't both been working our quads a bit doing strength training over the Winter months.
k

'16 Goals:

• Do some dus...and some CX...and some tandem gravel...and some podiums...

• PRs

• 130#s (or less)

• Stop letting my core go to hell

Jeffrey

posted: 4/24/2007 at 11:59 AM

Forgot to mention - wobbly legs! Yep, those wobbly legs are why you need a *designated driver* to drive you home after the run/bike event!

Today was a "rest day" for me, but I did about 20 minutes of spinning, pretty hard at the end. Since I was outside, I immediately hopped off the bike and ran about a quarter mile for shits 'n giggles. Holy Wobbly Legs Batman!

Scout7

CPT Curmudgeon

posted: 4/24/2007 at 12:02 PM

In tri's, transition can make or break you, especially for the really good people. I've seen transition times that are less than 2 minutes. That's hauling @$$.
The key multi-sport is having workouts that combine them (generally called bricks). Most often, these are bike, followed by run. The transition from swim to bike is usually not as difficult, since it's different muscle groups.
If you're really interested, look into a Sprint distance triathlon. These are the shortest distance tri's, although the distances for each leg can vary from race to race (except for the Half and full Ironman distances, those are always 70.3 and 140.6 total miles).
For me, I'll ride my bike to and from work, and run at lunch about 2-3 times a week, and do a long run and a long ride on the weekend (one each day).